Brad Faxon please with early 68

Brad Faxon,the 39-year-old Ryder Cup player from Rhode Island,spent two hours as the leader of the Open with a three under par 68 before he was overhauled by Colin Montgomerie.

Faxon set the early pace despite hitting bunkers three times and confessed
that his love affair with this course and others nearby simply does not go
away."I love playing here,I love links golf,I love the people,the appreciation everybody over here has for the game.It turned me on," he said afterwards.

Faxon was out early before the grey skies had broken a fraction and the breeze had eased but summed up his problems with the bunkers when he said:"You can challenge the golf course as much as you want but there is always a pot bunker where you want to be.

"You have to decide whether you want to be short of it,whether you want to take a club that goes past it,or equal to it.I don't think there is a player out there that is exempt from that choice."

Three times today Faxon had no choice as he hit bunkers on the seventh hole
with his second shot,with his tee shot on the par three ninth,and then with his tee shot on the 18th.But each time Faxon played out without difficulty--in contrast to countryman Fred Couples who took four shots,including one played left handed,to escape from a bunker on the 14th.

Faxon said of the bunker on the 18th where he dropped a shot:"I was right in the middle at the back of the bunker.I hit a nine iron out of there.I don't think I could have reached the green.The most I could have hit out of there was an eight iron."

Faxon,who played in the Ryder Cup in 1995 and 1997,is bidding to win a place in this year's team and is 13th in the US list as he began the Open today.He won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January this year

Faxon's last Open was in 1998 when he tied for tenth place after an opening round of 67.He tried to qualify last year but failed and returned to home to successfully defend his BC title at Endicott,New York. Faxon has played the Open nine times before today with his best place seventh in 1994 at Turnberry when he was six under par.Today gave him a promising target.

Sweden's Thomas Bjorn,who tied for second place last year with Ernie Els,and was in Faxon's group today,shot a first round of 76 today and is clearly under threat of not making the cut.

Els,runner up at Royal Lytham five years ago and a strong contender this time,came home with 71 and outlined how he has been able to play the Open
despite a recurrence of an old back problem.

Els confirmed that he is having regular treatment for his back which almost forced him to quit the Open three days ago.He said:"I had a scare on Monday.I came on Sunday and played nine holes and I could barely get out of
bed on Monday.

"This week I have had the guy who has been working on my back for four years,he knows my back and he's got me right.I just have to keep it loose now.I'm feeling good.I'm in the tournament."

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